Cheney jabs Powell on party loyalty

Continuing to resist the luxury of a quiet retirement, former Vice President Dick Cheney turned his fire on Colin Powell Sunday, questioning in a TV interview whether the former Bush administration secretary of state is even a Republican anymore.

Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Cheney said he was siding with Rush Limbaugh over Powell in the ongoing dispute between the conservative talk show host and the moderate retired general.

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“Well, if I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I’d go with Rush Limbaugh,” Cheney told moderator Bob Schieffer. “My take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn’t know he was still a Republican.”

Schieffer, somewhat taken aback by the broadside, asked: “You think he’s not a Republican?”

Cheney responded by pointing out that Powell had endorsed President Barack Obama last fall.

“I assume that that’s some indication of his loyalty and his interest,” Cheney said.

The tough talk comes amid considerable internecine warfare between GOP moderates and conservatives, establishment and movement types. Many in the party want to elevate new faces, but Cheney’s attack serves as a reminder of the continued prominence of some of the GOP’s most familiar figures.

The former vice president has used a series of interviews since leaving office in January to offer his unvarnished views, especially on Obama’s national security policies. The high profile has been notably different than that of former President George W. Bush, who has said little publicly since returning to Texas.

Cheney on Sunday kept up his criticism of Obama’s national security policies, offering an ardent defense of the aggressive interrogation techniques used on suspected terrorists during the Bush administration.

“I think it’s very, very important that we have a clear understanding that what happened here was an honorable approach to defending the nation, that there was nothing devious or deceitful or dishonest or illegal about what was done,” Cheney said.

He initially told Schieffer that he is taking such a public role because the issues are so important and he is receiving media inquiries, but later in the interview he suggested that there is a vacuum on the right in defending the controversial national security tactics used during the past eight years.